Guide: Open deck and closed deck
An open deck has slots and drains; a closed deck is a solid sheet. Open drains and washes; closed holds small items and keeps debris from falling through.
The two decks
| Open deck | Closed deck | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Slots, ribs or a grid | A solid sheet |
| Cleaning | Rinses and drains | Wipes; water pools in the pockets |
| Small items | Can drop through | Stay on top |
| Bulk bags | May sag into the gaps | Sit flat |
| Weight and cost | Lighter | Heavier |
Food and pharma plants like a deck they can wash and see through to, and beverage and bagged products often like a closed one. The choice follows the product, not the style of pallet.
Asking the maker
- Is the deck open, closed or partly closed?
- What is the slot size, if open?
- Does the rating change with a closed deck?
- Is there a lip or a drip edge for spills?
A closed deck is stiffer across the middle and can help a racking rating; an open deck sheds water and weight. Ask for the figure on the exact model, not the style in general.
FDA does not approve pallet models. If the cargo is food, ask the maker for resin and colourant documents and for cleaning guidance, and leave the claim of approval out.
A stack worked out
Take a stackable rated 25,000 lb static. The bottom pallet carries the pallets above it, so with each loaded pallet weighing 3,505 lb it can hold 7 above, a stack of 8. With 7,547 lb per pallet it can hold 3 above. This is a ceiling on a flat floor for a still stack, not a promise for a stack that moves or waits.
| Loaded pallet, lb | Pallets above the bottom | Stack height | Load on the bottom pallet, lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,505 | 7 | 8 | 24,535 |
| 4,012 | 6 | 7 | 24,072 |
| 4,519 | 5 | 6 | 22,595 |
| 5,026 | 4 | 5 | 20,104 |
| 5,533 | 4 | 5 | 22,132 |
| 6,540 | 3 | 4 | 19,620 |
| 7,547 | 3 | 4 | 22,641 |
Decks and handling equipment
A closed deck slides cleanly under stretch wrap and sheds nothing through the surface, yet it can trap water on top in a washdown, while an open deck drains but lets small items tumble through. Conveyor lanes, pallet inverters and vacuum lifters each have a preference, so name the equipment before choosing the deck.
Seeing the difference on the dock
Put one open and one closed sample on the dock, load each with the real cartons and push both across the floor. The way each loads, slides, drains and stacks shows within minutes what a sheet takes pages to describe.
A note on this page
Cleaning is the practical divider. A closed deck wipes down quickly and keeps powders, splinters and spilled liquid on top, while an open deck lets rinse water drain away but traps grime in the slots. Pick according to what the pallet meets, not what looks neater.
Words on this page
- Nest ratio
- How many empty pallets fit in the height of one: pallet height divided by nest increment.
- Bulk bag
- A large woven bag, often sold as a Super Sack, that holds a ton or so of powder or granules and sits on a square pallet.
- Closed deck
- A solid deck that keeps small items and torn bags from falling through and wipes clean on top.
- Static load
- The weight a pallet holds while standing still on a flat floor, spread evenly across the deck. It is the highest of the three ratings.
- Cube utilisation
- How well loaded freight fills the volume of a trailer or container. Taller or wider-than-floor pallets waste cube.
- Racking load
- The weight a pallet holds when it rests on two rack beams with an open gap between them. It is usually the lowest rating and only exists for pallets built for racks.
- Pallet pooling
- A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.
- Dunnage
- Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.
Tell us the footprint and how many stacks you move.
We work out the empty trailer, then take the request for a load.